


Heartbeat

by 11tol_tsukki11



Series: Laurent King's Hogwarts Adventures [12]
Category: Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Hogwarts Mystery, Video Game: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery - Fandom
Genre: Comfort, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-05-12 05:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19222528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/11tol_tsukki11/pseuds/11tol_tsukki11
Summary: Lau is having more and more struggles with dealing with his Hogwarts life as a werewolf. Keeping this secret can be emotionally taxing, but luckily his friend Barnaby is here to cheer him up.





	Heartbeat

**Author's Note:**

> Will Lau one day manage to sort all of his shit out ? Who knows !

After several days of warm weather, Hogwarts suddenly found itself shrouded in an awfully thick layer of snow. While that it looked pretty aesthetically pleasing, it wasn’t really... well, fun. Red noses, frostbitten ears, shivering limbs, you had several reasons to not enjoy that sudden cold. It happened in a blink, before you could notice it was freezing. Goodbye sunny weather, hello cold and brutal snow... the Celestial Ball should be renamed the Frostbite Ball. While thinking of that, Lau couldn’t hold back a smile. The Frostbite Ball, that had a pretty nice ring, but it sounded also... sort of negative. He wasn’t sure Dumbledore would be a big fan of that title change... Penny neither, especially that she was part of the decorating committee. Celestial Ball obviously meant a starry theme, and she would hate to give up all of her hard work to work on something more... snowy.

He shook his head in an attempt to chase these meaningless thoughts. Man, he could really go on little tangents with himself... why ? He held back a yawn. Yeah, maybe he was just tired. No shit he’s tired, he was still recovering. Another month, another case of lycantropy. Another case of lycantropy, another few days of being tired and irritable, before and after the transformation... which was so unlike him. The playful and cheerful Lau would vanish to become a much grumpier version, and he hated that. He couldn’t help it, however. It just... happened. Was it part of being a werewolf ? Hm... he wasn’t sure if he wanted the answer to that.

He had been at Hogsmeade with his friends, as to make up for his shitty attitude. Luckily, they were understanding, but Lau was pretty sure they all thought he was simply stressed out over the Celestial Ball. Ah, if only it could be that easy. Yes, he was stressing about it, but not enough to be as much of an asshole as he was a few days ago. Still, if the ball was a decent excuse... he was going to use it, whether he liked it or not. He always preferred honesty, but in that case, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to use it.

The Three Broomsticks was filled with clients, and Madam Rosmerta was running left and right to make sure that everyone was served, as well as scolding students who’d use an Engorgement Charm on their pints. Sitting at a table in the corner, away from prying looks, Penny Haywood, Barnaby Lee, Merula Snyde, Tulip Karasu and Laurent King were all chatting. They got there after a quite successful trip at Honeydukes, and Merula had a bag about as big as her head. The same could apply to Barnaby, but Tulip preferred to use her money for new products at Zonko’s. As for Lau and Penny, they both had a small bag of sweets. Tulip and Penny were talking about potions and pranks, and Barnaby and Merula about creatures, while Lau was sipping on his Butterbeer. Even though he was feeling better than the night of his transformation, he was sort sort of weak and tired, and would rather remain silent.

Eventually, though, he had enough of simply sitting there. No, he needed to move, The Three Broomsticks was starting to get loud... too loud. Too many clients speaking at once, too many pints clattering together. It was as if, all of a sudden, Lau had become hyper sensitive to every sound, even the tiniest one, and that at this point he’d start hearing people’s minds. No, better not get to that point. He set down his mug, and awkwardly stood up.

“I’m gonna take some fresh air” he said. “It’s kind of hot in there...”

It wasn’t really hot, though. In fact, the room temperature was just fine, but huge beads of sweat were trailing down Lau’s forehead anyway. He stumbled and finally made his way to the exit, without his coat, or gloves, or anything. As soon as he opened the door, huge waves of fresh air hit him at once, and he sighed in relief. Aaah... that was perfect. He closed the door behind him so the clients inside wouldn’t freeze.

Outside, the village was quite lively. Hogwarts students were walking around, some of them giving him weird looks because he was only in his casual clothes, and villagers were looking at different shops, wondering if they should go inside or not. Usually, they didn’t, and kept on walking. Lau recognized Diego Caplan walking with a group of friends, and he waved at him with a smile. Diego was nice... but he was just starting to get to know him. If he can’t tell his secret to his friends, how could he possibly tell it to Diego ? Or Jae ? He felt as if he was swimming in a pool of ink: no light anywhere. Only darkness. He sighed, closing his eyes. Despite the cold, he still felt hot as hell. Was that anxiety ? Probably. The Three Broomsticks’ door opened, probably a customer who just paid their drink and was leaving... Lau paid them no mind, until he heard a familiar voice right next to him.

“Lau ! There you are !”

The redhead opened his eyes and saw Barnaby standing close to him, a smile on his face. However, he could tell it wasn’t an ordinary smile. It was... a worried smile, as if he wanted to comfort Lau without even knowing what his troubles were. Oh, if only you could, Barnaby. Lau could feel his heart starting to beat harder against his chest, and he mentally cursed himself.

( thump thump thump )

Why now !? He didn’t have time to focus on this kind of feeling ! He... he can’t...

“Hey, Barny” Lau said with a small smile. “Sorry I left in such a hurry, I... I needed some fresh air. And to move a little. And... god, I’m talking too much, huh ?” he asked with a giggle.

( thump thump thump )

Barnaby couldn’t help but frown. Usually, Lau would never worry about talking too much. In fact, he’d go on multiple tangents, and Barnaby would find it adorable. From a conversation about Puffskeins, he’d find a way to talk about how boring Professor Binns was.

“You... you never talk too much, Lau” Barnaby said.

His cheeks were red. Was he blushing, or just cold ? Like Lau, he didn’t even bother to put on his coat. These two were headed for a cold. Before Laurent could say anything else, Barnaby suddenly talked, in an awfully serious voice, especially for him.

“Lau... are you, like, okay ?”

The Slytherin mentally sighed. He wasn’t... the best at this, but hey, at least he was trying ! Merula was Lau’s best friend, and she didn’t even seem to worry about his attitude... she believed that the Celestial Ball was truly stressing him out. But Barnaby wasn’t buying it. When it came to Lau’s wellbeing, he seemed less naive. He just... wanted him to feel okay.

( thump thump thump )

Lau looked at his friend, and their eyes locked. Emerald green eyes and dark chocolate eyes. Fuck, Lau thought. There was no way he could lie to him... but he had to. He knew what the general opinion about werewolves was, and it wasn’t good. Not at all.

“I’m just... nervous, I guess. And tired. But hey, nothing a good nap can solve...”

Barnaby shook his head, as if Lau just said something scandalous.

“No ! You can talk to me, Lau ! I’m not the smartest, but I’m not stupid either ! I can see that you’re hurt !”

A light suddenly flickered in his eyes. He looked at Lau.

“Is someone bothering you ? I’ll vanish their bones for you ! Well, not really, I don’t really like hurting people... but I’ll protect you !”

Lau couldn’t help but smile, and his heart only started beating even faster. Maybe he could ask him to the Celestial Ball... no, no way. He’d laugh at his face. A boy can’t like another boy, that’s ridiculous. Lau’s ridiculous.

“Thank you, Barnaby... but... I don’t think I can tell you. Not yet...”

Barnaby couldn’t hide his disappointment. He stared at his friend with a pout. Lau ended up stepping closer. He was starting to get sort of cold, now, and his fingers were shaking. He hated himself. Lau hated himself for not having the guts to tell everything to Barnaby. His condition as a werewolf, his feelings, his everything. While they were right next to each other, he felt as if huge, thick walls were keeping them apart, and Lau was too terrified to destroy them.

Slowly, he felt Barnaby take his hands, as if to warm them up. Ah, he probably noticed his shaking... god, his hands were so huge compared to Lau’s, it was almost laughable. He felt a shiver run down his spine, and stared at his friend with a small smile. Barnaby smiled back. And that one was genuine.

“If you can’t tell me, at least tell me what to do... please”

He slowly rubbed his hands, and Lau blushed.

“You... can keep doing that. I’m cold”

( thump thump thump )

“Yeah, me too...” Barnaby replied. “Going out in the snow like that wasn’t the most brilliant idea” he giggled.

“Well... you came to check on me. That’s pretty good” Lau said.

Silence. Lau kept staring at Barnaby, and finally gathered enough courage to ask for one thing. One thing he’s been dying to have, especially from Barnaby.

“Hug me. I need it... I mean, not only because it’s cold, but also... I just need it”

He hated admitting weakness. He wanted to look brave and strong. The Slytherin who took no shit. But now, everything was getting too much, and-

His train of thoughts was interrupted as Barnaby pulled him into a huge hug, leaning down a little to hold him properly. Lau remained paralyzed for a moment... before slowly sliding his arms around Barnaby and hugging him back, pressing their bodies together. He realized one thing: Barnaby’s heart was beating as hard as his. That reassured him, and he eased himself into the hug, relaxing his tense muscles and letting the warmth of Barnaby’s body engulf him. He closed his eyes, refusing to even think about letting go. He thought he heard Barnaby say something, but he wasn’t able to make it out. Eventually, they ended up pulling away, but Barnaby kept his arms around Lau, rubbing his back to warm him up. Lau had a smile.

“You’re probably as cold as me, Barnaby. Focus on warming yourself up”

“Nope” Barnaby giggled.

“Don’t blame me if you get a cold. Come on now, I miss my Butterbeer”

Barnaby couldn’t hold back the biggest smile. Lau was feeling better, he was now sure of it ! He nodded, and finally fully pulled away.

“Yes ! Let’s go ! Me and Merula were talking about Puffskeins before I left, I know you love them !”

Lau smiled and walked towards the Three Broomsticks’ door... but he stopped for a moment, turning back towards Barnaby and looking at him. He stepped closer, tip toed and kissed his cheek. Or well, ‘pecked’ would be a more accurate word. He took a step back, looking at his friend.

“Thank you, Barnaby”

And before Barnaby could say anything, Lau was walking back inside the pub.


End file.
